The Colorado College Climbing Team has had a great season, with four members advancing to the collegiate national competition and the team as a whole placing third in Nationals’ Team Bouldering.
At Nationals, which was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the end of Block 7, Ben Blackmore ’23 placed second, and Noah Wheeler ’25 placed third in Men's Bouldering. Conor Wellman ’25 placed seventh in Men's Sport Climbing and made it to the top 25 in Men's Bouldering. Manny Kahne ’25 also placed top 25 in Men’s Sport Climbing.
Additionally, Blackmore and Wheeler both were invited to the collegiate world competition in June in Austria.
Team Captain Dova Castaneda-Zilly ’23 says of the team, “I am so proud of them. They did insanely well and represented CC amazingly. We are super excited for next season and to continue improving as a team.”
In the Rocky Mountain region of collegiate climbing, the competition is fierce. Many of the most competitive climbers flock to states like Colorado and Utah to climb competitively, and having four of Colorado College’s own advance to the highest competitive event means a lot to the team. The CC Climbing Team also had lots of first-time competitors compete along with the group who placed highest, all of which was Castaneda-Zilly’s goal for Divisionals. Part of the climbing team’s ultimate goal is to “provide a space for experienced and beginner climbers to be introduced to competition climbing and come away with a positive experience and a love for climbing,” Castaneda-Zilly says.
Additionally, the CC Climbing Team is ranked in third place in the bouldering team portion of the competition. For a small school like Colorado College, having the entire team place third against other schools like University of Colorado Boulder, Colorado State University, University of Utah, University of Denver, and other large universities, shows just how devoted and commited these team members are to the sport.
Although Divisionals was a competition filled with difficult climbing “problems,” Wellman’s proudest moment was during the fifth boulder problem, where the team had been brainstorming possible ways to tackle the impossible-looking route. Wellman had “determined that it looked nearly impossible, so when I found a way through it was an unexpected and exciting moment.”
The Climbing Team is crowdfunding this spring to help the four members who moved on to Nationals fly to Philadelphia and pay for their entrance fees. The excess money they raise will be used toward future competitions; the team pays for their entrance fees and traveling to make participation as accessible as possible. After the money is used toward competing, the rest will go to the team, bettering them for future competitions and helping them bond together as a group.